October 19, 2018

Chatting the Pictures: The So-Called “Mob,” The Ultimate Fire, Saudi Prince in a Whirlwind

Welcome to the latest edition of Chatting the Pictures, a weekly, micro-edition of the Reading the Pictures Salon. In each 25 minute webcast, co-hosts Michael Shaw, publisher of Reading the Pictures, and writer and historian, Cara Finnegan, discuss three prominent photos in the news. The program is broken into three segments: “The News,” “The Look,” and “The Pick.” With “The News,” we discuss a hard news image for how much information it contains. “The Look” focuses on a news photo that pushes the boundaries of artistry and style. And “The Pick,” asks what makes a high profile photo unique to editors or the public.

“The News” photo this week was taken by Andrew Harrer for Bloomberg Photos. It shows protestors banging on the door of the Supreme Court after Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation as the latest high court justice. The photo continues to be relevant as Republicans refer to this event, and to Democrat protesters in general, as “a mob.”

For “The Look,” we discuss a unique photo by Noah Berger for AP. This widely published photo documents a major fire in California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest in early September. Last week, it illustrated a New York Times story on an alarming climate change report.

“The Pick” features Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arriving to meet Prime Minister Theresa May outside 10 Downing Street in London in March 2017. Taken by Alastair Grant for AP, the photo has been published numerous times this week as the Prince has been implicated in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and writer living in the U.S. who was reportedly murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Chatting the Pictures is a weekly, micro-edition of the Reading the Pictures Salon. In each 25 minute webcast, co-hosts Michael Shaw, publisher of Reading the Pictures, and writer and historian, Cara Finnegan, meet to discuss three prominent photos in the news. You can find all the Chatting the Pictures replays here.

Slideshow

Photo: Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg
Caption: Demonstrators pound on the front door of the U.S. Supreme Court after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate. October 6, 2018

Photo: Noah Berger/Associated Press
Caption: A wildfire in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California last month. The new I.P.C.C. research found that wildfires are likely to worsen if steps are not taken to tame climate change.

Photo: Alastair Grant/ AP Photo/ File In this March 7, 2018, file photo, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives to meet Prime Minister Theresa May outside 10 Downing Street in London. In 2017, at the age of 31, Mohammed became the kingdom’s crown prince, next in line to the throne now held by his octogenarian father, King Salman.

Michael Shaw An analyst of news photos and visual journalism, and a frequent lecturer and writer on visual politics, photojournalism and media literacy, Michael is the founder and publisher of Reading the Pictures.

Cara Finnegan Communication Professor, University of Illinois. Author of Making Photography Matter: A Viewer's History from the Civil War to the Great Depression and Picturing Poverty: Print Culture and FSA Photographs. Moderator, Reading the Pictures Salon.